


The Heart's Pulse

by PapaKapkan



Series: The Beat of Our Souls [1]
Category: Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Comedy, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Sad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-01
Updated: 2018-07-27
Packaged: 2019-03-12 08:23:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13543473
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PapaKapkan/pseuds/PapaKapkan
Summary: Jack is doing his yearly interviews to see how the teams are working together, shit happens, and well, you could say things don't go as Jack had originally intended.





	1. The SAS

The members of the S.A.S got up early today because they knew they were going to meet me. I have a feeling Thatcher was overseeing the whole thing trying to keep things in order. But order is not what happens when James is involved. Add Mark and Seamus to the mix and it’s a cocktail for disaster. Thatcher should have been prepared for his order to fall apart the moment I walked into the room, because they held in all their shenanigans until that moment. I mean, I should have been prepared. 

S.A.S Common room, 13:30, January 2, 2018

I had walked briskly from my wing of the building over to where the S.A.S and the GIGN were located. I had already spent time in the GIGN’s common room yesterday, which is located directly above the S.A.S common room, I am more excited about the fact I do not have to go up any stairs today. That is really all I care about, I am a little too tired for that. I had a rough time sleeping last night because Thermite had kept us all up late last night in the common room. I can’t even remember what movie he was making us all watch... I am currently standing outside the door of the common room just listening. I can hear them all talking and moving within the room, I also smell coffee, most likely Thatcher decided to make some. I mean, if I had to wake those guys up I would need a whole pot of coffee before I even attempted it. I almost decide to just turn right back around when James suddenly busts the door open and grabs me by the collar of my shirt and I get violently pulled in by the crazy man. He is laughing hysterically, I imagine he has had too much coffee already… if he even needs it… 

“Where have you been all morning, mate?” He shouts far too loud for my taste. I want to reel back but he still has a tight grip on my shirt. 

“Please let go, I think I am going to have a headache with your shouting.” I manage to say, almost not loud enough because Mark has to shout it again at him to let me go before he actually does. I manage to get out of James’ grip and eventually settled on one of the loveseats within the common room, and of course it happens to be the most worn and uncomfortable of the lot. One of the six chairs was occupied by a very large, plush teddy bear. Its origins are unknown as far as I have been told. But I have a feeling Thatcher bought it just to occupy the chair that nobody is allowed to sit on because you will fall straight through it. It is a very cozy deterrent to sitting in that chair, you don’t want to offend “Mr. Cuddles” now, do we? Getting cozy in this stupid chair is nearly impossible so I attempt at speaking before I hear an obnoxiously loud noise. I was going to ask where Seamus was, but clearly now I have my answer. Suddenly, a wall near me just completely breaks through as the operator Sledge comes crashing through the wall like it’s made of paper. I can feel some of the wall chunks hitting me and I can see dust flying everywhere. Mark looks impressed, I see James hold up a small piece of cardboard that says “10” on it up, and Mike looks like he is about to have an aneurysm. I can feel my eye twitching as I try very hard to hold myself from just suddenly screaming at the top of my lungs in complete annoyance and despair. Silence suddenly falls over the common room. 

“That was absolutely stunning, babe.” Mark says slightly sarcastic after what felt like an eternity of silence. James bursts out in his obnoxiously loud laugh and agrees. Mike nearly spits out his coffee onto poor Mr. Cuddles. I just slump in my chair, I already know that this is not going to go as I had originally planned. The plan was to come in here, talk to these guys, and get out so I can get on with my day. Somehow, I have the feeling I am going to be here all day. I rub my temples trying to relax a little bit. I had looked over to Mr. Cuddles and he looked slightly discontented with the fact that I was even here. I am not entirely certain as to how the plush bear could seem so discontented. But he is of Thatcher.. So I am not overly surprised either. 

“Ok, so first question… how do you guys feel your teamwork has been?” I ask. Which arises a cacophony of nose, all four of them shouting at once. I have to hold myself back yet again from just screaming. I can already hear Eliza laughing at how I can’t handle this bunch of crazy people. I am fairly certain at least James is crazy. 

“I think, maybe you guys should speak one at a time… please,” I manage to say hearing the plastic casing on my nice pen cracking. 

“I think our teamwork is brilliant, what about you guys?” Mute says, a lilt in his voice. That boy is up to no good I can see it in his eyes. 

“I think so, lad, James! What’s that look in your eyes for?” Sledge shouts, possibly too loud. It seems that Smoke has taken to staring at the ceiling after sitting in his chair improperly, one leg hanging over the arm, back bent awkwardly over the other arm, one arm over the back of the chair, and the other arm off the chair completely. How Seamus can see the look in his eyes, I am not certain, as his face is not visible from my angle. Could be that the Scottish man is just a giant. I don’t know. 

“I… am thinking Seamus. What do you want.” the crazy Brit laughs out at Sledge. I groan in annoyance. So far, I thought this was good. But of course James has to be stubborn as fuck. Mute smirks and I can already tell the young man has some incredibly intelligently planned out snark coming out. I groan internally as he begins to speak, I decide to say something before the kid ruins my chance. 

“Can you please just answer the damn question, James.” I have to keep my voice level from shouting. 

“Typical Americans, always trying to control others.” Mark says in a sippy manner. Oh fuck, can’t he just hold in his snark for a moment. Stupid kid. The door to the common room opens behind me and I hear a familiar set of boots on the floor. 

“Hey babe, came to check up on you, how you doin’? You need me to bring you some lunch?” Thermite. He places his hands on both of my shoulders and leans over me. The pen cracks into two pieces. I see Mike, who was amused this whole time, just watching, finally raise a single brow at the scene. 

“Get lost, Jordan. I am in the middle of something important. Take your stupid joke with you.” I snap. 

“Okay, okay, chill. I’ll see you when you get back home, my dearest husband.” Jordan says a little too cheerfully. I feel my eyebrow twitch, such a miniscule movement, but just enough that I can feel it. I hold the still semi-useful half my pen in my hand and note some of the good things that I managed to get out of this so far. I notice that Mark and James are having some kind of conversation, James sniggers and sits upright, both of the men have a smirk on their faces. Oh no, I am suddenly not liking this. I have every reason not to. The longer these idiots fuck around. The less time I have to actually rest. I’m “off duty” for the next six weeks to get this done. I want to get it done in two. If these guys will let me. 

“I didn’t know you and Jordan were married! How sweet, when do you guys get your honeymoon?” James chirps, winking at me. I officially want to strangle this guy. Then, of course, you can trust Mark to join in.

“Wow, that is sweet, isn’t it? To have someone who loves you? Does your mother know?” Mark says in a sweet and sour manner. That is it, the last straw, I almost stand up to strangle him when Seamus pipes in.

“What kind of positions does Jordan like, Jack? Cowboy? He is from the south, after all.” the large Scottish man sniggers. I nearly scream this time around.

“Oh my, Seamus, you are totally ruining the moment, let them at least have the sex first.” Mark adds, almost laughing.

“Don’t you have teabags to suck?” I snap at Mark, James interrupts at this point.

“It’s all brewed out, mate!” he smirks at me and lets out an obnoxious laugh again. For the first time since I started this interrogation, at least this is what it has turned into, Mike speaks.

“Blimey, would you two quit your flirting. Save that for later. As for the matter at hand, congratulations on your marriage, oh and I think our teamwork is just fine.” Mike stands up, a sly smile on his face, he leans in and says quietly, “I think you should take this as an opportunity to flee and recuperate. Let’s just leave it at that.”

 

I take his word to heart, and I huff out of there. I am mostly furious at Jordan now, how dare he interrupt when he knows I am doing my yearly meeting. With the SAS of all groups?! What is his problem. I will scold him later. For now I have this massive headache and I am in need of a nap.


	2. Spetsnaz Ordeal Part One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Spetz bois don't co-operate and things just get a little messier and poor Jackie can't catch a break.

This is not how I would have expected today to go, I had already gone through and done our yearly check with all the ops with every other unit in the last week and a half. Today is the day I am supposed to check up on our dearly beloved Spetsnaz operators. I feel like I have made a huge fucking mistake. I officially hate this yearly check up. I did not expect to learn of Tachanka’s… stubbornness… and the fact that Fuze did… you know what, save that for later. I think it is about time I told the story properly…

 

**Spetsnaz Common room, 14:35, January 6, 2018:**

 

I have all four of the Spetsnaz operators in one room currently, the first thing I like to do is ask them what they think about their teamwork. It took me five minutes to get them settles down into the common room. I feel like I just wrangled a bunch of unruly children. Glaz looks more tired and worn than he usually does. Tachanka looks like he is about to pass out suddenly. Fuze is annoyed because he was writing something on his wall (it was in Russian, I wish I knew but somehow I have the feeling it has something to do with his quarrel with Jäger recently) and I happened to interrupt him. Kapkan looks bored, and he has already stated twice he wants to go back to what he was doing (which was some sort of new trap? I wasn’t entirely certain). 

 

“Okay, guys, we are here today to discuss what we think of our teamwork.” I spoke clearly, and made sure I had their attention this time. Glaz sighed and looked to Kapkan, who softened at his look. Fuze just stared at the floor like a pouty child. Tachanka was still on the verge of one of his notorious naps. I almost have flashbacks to when I went to visit the S.A.S operators earlier this week… I shake my head to loose the thoughts from my head. I watched their reactions, hoping to keep their attention. Kapkan was starting to look angry, and that is when I noticed that Fuze was muttering almost inaudibly in Russian. I sighed slightly as I began to speak again. 

 

“What do you guys think you are best at as a team?” I asked trying to distract them from whatever shit Fuze was trying to stir up. They all kind of sat up and looked bitterly at each other before speaking horrifically in unison:

 

“We are great at fucking  _ ruining _ everything.”

 

I groan loudly before almost letting my clipboard fall out of my lap. This is going to be just  _ peachy _ isn’t it? I try to keep myself upright enough so that it doesn’t just hit the floor, it works favorably until I see Tachanka just fall off the edge of the couch and I shift just the wrong way and I hear my clipboard clang on the floor, and i can hear the papers all come loose. Just great. I have to gather all that back up and also wait for Tachanka to wake up. I might as well go get a cup of coffee. Maybe a beer instead. These guys are going to be hard to pry open. I may just have to resort to doing what I hate the most..  _ One on one interviews _ .

 

“Okay, guys, I think this is a great time for a short break-” I started to speak.

 

“But it has been only ten minutes, Estrada-” Glaz begins

 

“I need some coffee, and I need a new plan. We are going to do one on ones until Tachanka comes back to life. So give me about thirty minutes to reconfigure.” I say as I stride out of the Spetsnaz wing of the building and swiftly head for the main building, where I can get a good hot cup of joe. I managed to fanangle a good cup of coffee, surprisingly fresh even. I sat down for just a moment in the courtyard in the center of all the buildings. The air was fresh and slightly cool. The sun had warmed up the courtyard so that it wasn’t so bitter out here. I could see IQ and Ash across the courtyard fucking around with some playing cards, from what I could hear they were playing “Go Fish.” I smiled to myself as Ash laughed and kept her eyes on IQ, the two have been very close since they met. I can feel someone’s eyes on me, but I choose to ignore it. Eventually the feeling goes away, but by the time that happens my coffee is cold, luckily I only have two sips of it left. Which makes me feel less wasteful. As I begin heading my way back to the Spetsnaz common room, I dump the paper cup into the garbage can in the courtyard and headed back. I almost went back into my own common room before I remembered I needed to stay downstairs. It used to be the F.B.I were downstairs, but the Russians don’t sleep at night, I am certain. So their loud footsteps and the mysterious crashing noises kept us up at night, Six was the one who decided to switch it. I steel myself before opening the door. 

 

Tachanka is still asleep, Kapkan is cooking some sort of concoction of food in the kitchen. It smelled ok, but I have smelled the smoke that came from down here before. Glaz claimed it was Fuze’s cooking. I can’t be for certain, however. I have heard of Tachankas cooking.. Castle told me a horror story when he came to the Spets common room to help Tachanka better his English. He vowed never to go back in there. I don’t know exactly what happened, or what Tachanka made, or how. I just know that Castle nearly died, something caught fire, and Tachanka just let it burn. This doesn’t smell like burnt flesh or radioactive waste however, and this concerns me. I didn’t know any of the Russians could cook. But then again, I’ve been wrong about these guys before. Fuze is sitting in front of the TV just staring at the blank screen. Glaz is standing near Kapkan, presumably helping him in the kitchen. I wonder how these guys work without those two. I shake my head and ignore my thoughts for a second. I decide to quickly shoot doc a text to ask him for some advice. He responds quick as light. 

 

“Fuze, I am going to start with you, but we will have to organize this into a schedule. I just got this from Doc. He will not let you guys out of this, since he tasked me with this. Got it?” I say, I keep speaking when the three operators look at me, “8 o’clock AM sharp, Fuze, you will meet me in the workshop. Got it?” He grunts in annoyance as a response. 

 

“Kapkan, you and I will be meeting at the…  _ obstacle course? _ ” Is this what you really put if you had to meet up one on one?” Kapkan smugly grins at me. I shake my head but then turn to Glaz. 

 

“Gardens, I know, what time?” Glaz speaks, not looking up from whatever is cooking. I think for a moment and then consult Doc’s message. 

 

“Three PM.” I repeat, and I see him absentmindedly nod. 

 

“I won’t be able to talk to Tachanka while he is incapacitated like this. Tell him to meet me in the FBI common room at 9PM tomorrow night, and we will decide where to go from there. Okay? Ok.” I say, I swiftly manage to exit the common room as fast as I can while all three of the awake operators realize what just happened, and the protests start immediately. But as the doors shut behind me, the protesting of the Russians are shut away, too. I decide that I should use the rest of today to relax. I head back upstairs for the day and I see that Miles and Jordan are laughing on the couch some comedy on the television. I can smell this mornings breakfast still, and I see in the kitchen that the dishes are still piled up on the counter. Clearly nobody cared enough to do the dishes. I decide instead of announcing my arrival I am going to sneak off to my room. I just want to lay down for fifteen minutes. Not a lot of time, but enough. 

 

“Hey, baby! You’re back already?” I hear Jordan shout as I am about halfway to the hall with each of our rooms.  _ Fuck _ . He wasn’t supposed to notice me. 

 

“Fuck off, Jordan. I just need a nap.” I start moving again when I feel him grab my shoulder and rest his head on my other one. 

 

“Oh, come on, lighten up, Jackie!” Jordan laughs. I push him off me, moving to head to my room. I hear him calling me as I flee to my room. I push the door to the small room open violently, it smashes against my dresser before I can grab it again. When I do grab the door, I throw it with almost as much force as I can back into the frame, slamming it with such a sound I can hear Ash shouting curses and Castle open his door to peak around and find out what caused the ruckus. After locking the door I flop onto my bed in defeat. I can’t help but feel a pain in my chest as my own thoughts run rampant in my mind. 

 

This little running gag of Jordan’s began when the two of us had to pretend to be a couple for a mission. We had to infiltrate a party, but for whatever reason it was being held by one of their higher up members, whom of which was very heterophobic. Ash, IQ, Kapkan, Glaz, Thermite and I all went into this party separated into “couples” so that we could gain entry. The party was meant to cover up a meeting of several higher up white masks who had plans on their next attacks, as well as the chemical compound to the gas they used at Bartlett. Jordan and I spent most of the time mock flirting and dancing on the floor. Kapkan and Glaz stayed arm and arm the whole time, striking up interesting conversations with fellow party goers as well as they made out for a solid five minutes at one point near the edge of the party. Ash and IQ however actually managed to get something done, they heard an interesting conversation at a door about Bartlett. The doorman said “Have you heard about Bartlett?” the other party goers who approached responded with: “Ah, yes, those poor,  _ poor _ children!” and they were let into the room with a grin. This repeated several times and Ash and IQ managed to get in the same way. They stole the plans and of course Ash fired off her pistol after inappropriately taking it from under her dress. Well, to them it seemed inappropriate because all of a sudden the German woman was taking papers and the American was lifting up her dress. She pulled out a pistol that was strapped to her thigh over her leggings and shot it several times into the air. I could see Glaz and Kapkan separate from their little edge of the party, and people started to run. Ash and IQ were running yelling over our earpieces that we had to leave with the chaos, and to meet back at the van. Needless to say, Eiza sure knows how to crash a party. 

 

I collapse on the floor and hope that maybe tomorrow I will find out what the Spetsnaz men are hiding so that I can finish these damn reports. 


	3. Spetsnaz Ordeal Part Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pulse goes for a very early morning wander. Fuze is incredibly dismissive, and the morning is incredibly quiet.

I slept hard, and I slept for a very long time. I woke up at three in the morning with a dry mouth and a sore body. I slept very stiffly as well, not moving an inch since about four in the afternoon yesterday. I should have woken up much sooner than that, but it’s too late now I have slept the accidental eleven hours. I have to force myself to sit up, head spinning. I know I had to get up, in five hours I have to go meet up with Fuze in the workshop, and then I have to take a break before I meet Glaz at three in the afternoon. That is… if Fuze doesn’t use up all of that time. I run my hands down my face, anticipating the agony that is to come. Glaz will be easy to handle, he is good in one on one situations, Fuze is unlikely to talk however. Tachanka is sleeping his problems away. Kapkan is harder to read. He likes to hide things, and he is very good at it. 

 

I slowly stood up, wavering for a minute before I went to my closet. I had to grab a clean outfit that wasn’t yesterday’s. As I was doing so, I decided I needed a shower. I sigh, running my hand over my face. I set the clothes on my desk while I gather my bathing supplies. I pull out the little plastic basket with a few key things: body wash, a towel, deodorant. I threw the clothes into the small basket, letting them slightly pile over the edges as I made my way out of my room. It was early, much too early for even the renowned Thatcher to be awake. I shuffled down the halls and towards the bathroom. It is so early, I think even Jackal has tucked in for a while. I hear no noise as I make it into the mens washroom. I checked the whole room for anyone, I just want this small moment of peace to myself. I relax a little upon the realization that the room is in fact empty. I set the small basket down on the floor and I quickly undress myself and start the water. It is freezing cold at first, but i relish it. The water warms up slowly as I stand beneath it, my head bowed under the water. I relished it for a minute. Just enjoying the feeling of the water Find or start a conversation   
on my tense back and shoulders. I relaxed a little bit. Letting the tension ease from my body just a little. 

 

I started to wash my body, cleaning off the sweat from sleeping under too many blankets again. Jordan saw me sleeping once and he told me that I sleep under too many quilts. I can’t exactly help myself against the many plush blankets that I have managed to acquire. I feel myself relaxing for once, I don’t get completely relaxed because I begin to think about what is going to be going on today. I have to wrangle each of the Spetsnaz men one by one. Hopefully I can get them to be less, how can I put this? Less… vague. I need them to be more concise than last year, Doc and Six both mentioned that they wanted me to make sure that I had things more sorted out, especially after that incident where Fuze nearly clobbered Jäger’s face in. I still need to get to the bottom of that. There are definitely some weird things going on around here, and I just need to make sure that things will be running smoothly enough for them to still be cooperable teams. 

 

I left the shower and dried off, slowly pulling the clean clothes over my body. I examined my tired face in the mirror. I looked dreadful. Like I hadn’t slept in a good long while. I ran some cold water and splashed it over my face. It didn’t help a whole lot, but it helped wake me up quite a bit. As I gather my stuff back up and I head back to my room. Everything is quiet as, it’s now almost four in the morning as I shuffled back into my room. The room was still dark, I hadn’t bothered turning on any lights. My eyes felt tired as I looked around my room. I ended up settling for turning on my desk lamp. The dim light washed over the room, casting shadows over my bed and making the corners of the room seem like something is hiding. I sat down after disposing of the things in my arms. My desk was bare, and so I just ended up sitting there for a few moments. I pulled out of my drawer the files that I had been keeping for this. I began to read over my notes I had taken about the Spetsnaz unit. 

 

Tachanka was almost diagnosed with narcolepsy last year because of his habit of sleeping anywhere, and at any given time without reason or command. He only was just able to sleep whenever he wanted to, and I kind of envy that skill of his. I knew Fuze had a hard time sleeping, for whatever reason. He also got into a lot of spats with operator Jäger several times. I have theories that he has gotten into several more that I, and many of the rest of us are unaware of. Bandit gave me some shady results last year during our talk, and Jäger didn’t want to talk about Bandit at all. IQ and Blitz had no problems about it. I suspect that Bandit and Jäger had gotten into some kind of fight or altercation that resulted in him being wary of the older German. I have been wanting to learn more about that, but I have a feeling nobody is going to speak of it. 

 

I look at my special device, the cardiac sensor. I decided to do something seemingly invasive that I liked to do when I couldn’t sleep late at night. Every so often I will go around pointing my cardiac sensor into each of the small rooms to discover what was going on late at night. I could figure out which of us have nightmares due to elevated heart rates as they slept. I could also figure out who was getting frisky if they couldn’t sleep, but there were only so many female ops, so it is is hard for me to discern who is actually with who. But I can confirm that at it’s most definitely not Ash roaming around late at night. She sleeps completely still, her heart constantly at a peaceful rate. As I wandered the halls I realized I had roamed directly towards the GSG9 unit, which has recently given me concern due to Jäger’s recently created black eye. I don’t know exactly what happened, but I saw Jäger in the showers the other night, and his body was covered in bruises and cuts. He managed to escape my questions, and I had offered to go to Doc but he looked like he was going to punch me as he told me to mind my own business. I saw that Bandit’s room was completely empty, whereas there were two hearts beating in Jäger’s room. I had to wonder if there was a reason that Bandit, if it was even him in there, was in Jäger’s room at four in the morning. One heartbeat was calm, almost peaceful, the other was in what I assumed was Jäger’s desk chair. That person’s heart was racing, almost too fast. I almost wanted to try and peak in the room, but with that high of a heart rate, I couldn’t believe whoever is with Jäger is asleep. They have to be awake. My suspicions are confirmed when the heart I am following starts to move, standing up the person paces the room, leaning over the bed, and then pacing for a few moments before settling back in the chair. IQ and Blitz are still in their rooms, fast asleep. 

 

As I continue my late night pander around the base, I find myself where the Spetsnaz soldiers reside. I see a similar thing, Glaz’s room is empty, but Kapkan’s room has two hearts beating in there. Except in here, both hearts are in the bed, pressed close together, beating almost at the same rate. Fuze’s room is also empty. But where the Uzbek could have gone, I have no clue. Tachanka sleeps like the dead, clearly still in his room. I wandered around some more and found myself over by the workshop, there was a lone heartbeat in there. It must have been Fuze. I decided against my better judgement to enter the workshop and see what was going on inside there. I see the man at the table on the other side of the room tense up as I walk in. Shuhrat Kessikbayev turns around to face me. 

 

“You’re a few hours early, Estrada.” the gruff man says before turning back around to face his work. If he was startled, he didn’t want me to know. He kept his cool, and refused to show weakness. 

 

“Couldn't sleep either, buddy?” I asked as I took a seat beside him, where usually a nonchalant Jäger sat, if he would have taken his place in the workshop. The Uzbek ignored me, instead focusing on his work. I immediately wished I had my notes. I only carried my cardiac sensor, however. The silence is stifling. 

 

“Why do Glaz and Kapkan sleep in the same room tonight? Are they ok?” I blurted out, unable to keep the questions from bursting from my body. He shot me a shocked look, before I had to explain, gesturing to my cardiac sensor in response, a sheepish smile on my face. He raises an eyebrow at my confession. 

“Maxim has hard time sleeping. He seeks the warmth of another to help him, Timur lets him seek that warmth in him.” he said, his words spoken fast and curtly. He made a face as if he said too much, and ignored my next question.

 

“Why wouldn’t he tell Doc?” I had decided to ask. But Fuze clenched his jaw and kept silent. I decided not to press further. I didn’t want him to clamp up completely. The Uzbek man had a black eye and bruises on his face. He had kept working as I decided to ask more questions, taking out a small notebook to take some minor notes. 

 

“Ok, then… are you guys all working together ok?” I asked. The other man in the room froze for just a moment before continuing to work again, fiddling around with the explosive charge. 

 

“Yes.” was all responded to me. I noted his curt responses as we continued. 

 

“Are you being honest?” I pressed, my pen ready for whatever he does. He just shrugs and I sigh quietly. 

 

“Is there  _ anything _ you would like to say at all? Anything you need to get off your chest, any concerns? Concerns about you, your teammates, others you work with?” I question, trying to get anything out of the Uzbek.

 

“These… chit-chats… are they going to be reported to Six?” the man finally speaks a full sentence, he eyes me cautiously, his work paused. I sit there, my jaw dropped for just a second. I regained composure pretty quickly to respond.

 

“I mean, yes, of course they are.” I had responded. He nodded quietly, not really paying attention. 

 

“I have nothing to say to you then.” the man said curtly. He put aside his work, standing to leave. I didn’t react fast enough before Fuze left me n the quiet workshop. I note that down as I gather up my cardiac sensor and make my way for the kitchens. I had my heart set on a fresh cup of coffee. 

 

Six in the morning,and I found myself sipping on my third cup of coffee, my cardiac sensor still sitting on the table in front of me. I had leaned forward onto my arms, one of my hands absently wrapped around the disposable cup. I realized as I could hear the clock chiming for six thirty in the morning that I had not actually given Kapkan a time. Glaz was three pm, and Tachanka was 9pm. I guess I could tell Kapkan that I could meet up with him early. I pull out my cell phone out of my back pocket and send a text to the Russian man, letting him know we will be meeting in 30 minutes, as I have finished Fuze’s meeting early. I just hope the Uzbek went to get some sleep. I noted that Kapkan read my text, but he didn’t respond. I sipped my coffee and bided my time. 


	4. Crash and Burn

I waited at the obstacle course for Kapkan. My tired eyes scanned my surroundings. I didn’t wait for very long, the tall, buff trapper walking with an abundance of confidence over to where I stood. He reeked of confidence as he plopped himself right next to me. He sat down for only a few moments, the two of us were quiet as we sat there. He got up suddenly and started to work through the obstacle course. I suddenly felt myself jolt as I started to walk around the outside of the course, I didn’t want to follow behind the crazy Russian as he started throwing himself through it. His movements were fluid, from having done this so many times. I started to talk to him as I followed him from the outside. 

 

“So, you know why we are here, I just want to know why all of you guys are being so secretive. Fuze kind of left me with more questions than answers this morning.” I spoke loudly. I could see him give me an odd look as he turned his head slightly. It was almost a twitch of a movement. 

 

“Why would that be?” he spoke, referring to what I said about his comrade. I sighed as I moved a little closer, making sure to keep up with him. 

 

“Something clearly has happened recently, with all of you. Now come on, cooperate with me, Maxim.” I say, using his real name, trying to get him to work with me, rather than against me. He barely acknowledged me, much less anything I was currently saying at the moment. I knew I had to get him to speak somehow. The relationship between the four men has changed drastically in the last year, and it is my job to find out why. I was chosen for this and it is my duty to make sure everything is ok. I have to make sure they can keep working together. 

 

“It is nothing, I can assure you this, Estrada.” the Russian man responded cooly, maneuvering himself through the course. 

 

“Ok, let’s start like this then, how do you feel about… Tachanka, then?” I ask, I decided to start asking him of his comrades one at a time. 

 

“He’s a good man, he knows how to get things done, even if it’s not exactly how you intended.” he responded after a moment of silence. He clearly looked like he didn’t want to respond. 

 

“Ok, Fuze?” I continued, he hesitated for just a moment before he responded.

 

“Temper of fire, but he cares a lot. He cares a lot more than the rest of us realize.” Kapkan responded, he was already almost through the course. I imagine he will not want to speak to me once he is through. 

“Glaz?” I had to move a little faster to keep up with him. He is throwing himself about the obstacles as fast as he can go, almost as if he could escape me. He knew as well as I did that I was not leaving until either he wouldn’t speak any more or I was satisfied. Both of such were probably going to take a while to reach. Kapkan was being very to the point, but just vague enough that I was having a hard time getting the answers I really needed. I noted that in his panic, he finally caught himself and stabilized his movements, but he paused to speak and look at me. 

“You’re not going to make him go away are  you?” his eyes carried a panicked look as he spoke. 

 

“Why would you say that?” I pressed, I noted briefly this reaction. I hadn’t seen this panic before, but just as fast as it came, it passed. 

 

The Russian man flushed a bright red, he had decided not to wear any facial cover, just working out here in a white T-shirt and cargo pants along with his usual boots. I noted he also slid a little, getting dirt all over himself. He had trouble getting himself up, stumbling about in embarrassment. He was struggling to get words out, he didn’t seem to quite know what to say, or what to expect my reaction to be. 

 

“He’s not too useless!” he shouts out, clearly embarrassed. I noted that hastily. His reaction to being questioned about Glaz clearly sparked something in him. I noted that down as well, he was overly concerned with his fellow Russian. He made it clear he no longer wished to speak to me. I decided that was enough for this meeting. I got what I needed. He thinks highly of his teammates, and he has a good sense of responsibility for his team. 

 

As I made my way back to the cafeteria I looked at the little schedule I had written in my phone, I don’t have to see Glaz until 3pm today. Tachanka I will deal with later tonight at 9pm. While I have to wait until my meeting with Glaz in the gardens, in the meantime I decide to hang out in the cafeteria still. My cardiac sensor at my side... and another cup of coffee. I slept far too long, and I feel like the dead still. I end up re-reading most of my notes. I noted how Kapkan stumbled, both in his words and his movement. Something is going on between him and Glaz, a fight maybe? The others must be covering up for him. Fuze doesn’t say much in the first place, but Kapkan is bound to speak many words. Glaz will be the easiest one to get talking, I think. Especially since this will be a one-on-one thing, which Glaz seems to be best at. I ended up dozing off on the table for a short period of time, or so I thought, until Jordan came up seemingly out of nowhere.

 

“Hey, bro, I’m seriously so sorry about yesterday, I didn’t mean to make you mad-” he started before he even sat down in front of me with a tray of what I think is too much food.

“Stop right there, Trace. Don’t even start with me right now.” I interrupt him, my speech slurred slightly with how groggy I was. I eyed my notes as I sat up straighter, and I managed to look at my watch. It was 3:45 in the afternoon. I stood up suddenly nearly knocking my long since cold coffee off the table. 

 

“Woah, where are you goin’, darlin’! I was hoping to get to talk to you a little!” He shouted as I ran away, I was very late. Almost an hour late. I was supposed to meet Glaz in the gardens at 3! The gardens are special for many reasons. One day after a really great victory against the terrorists, a bunch of the ops gathered together in the one of the courtyards, the one in the empty wing of the building,  and we all had the idea to plant flowers and bushes and all kinds of things out there in memory of those who died. It kind of has gotten wild, but I’ve found Smoke out there keeping them under control. Sometimes Bandit or Ela joins him. Sometimes I’ve seen Kapkan out there pulling weeds or moving the plants around so that they don’t hurt each other. But many of us have gone out there to seek solitude and comfort among the near-wild plants we all planted.

 

I arrived to the gardens, I wanted to see if he waited for me, I have my doubts as I push the heavy door open to the outside. Then I hear it. Glaz is singing, its a soft sound, barely audible through the brush. He is singing in his native tongue, softly, but clearly. I find him in a secluded corner of the gardens, he has a canvas out and many, many paints. He expected to be here a long time. He was incredibly prepared. He was painting the bright azaleas and rhododendron plans. He was using brilliant colors, creating a more natural background of trees and other plain shrubbery around the two bushes. I ignored the despaired look of Jordan’s face that popped into my head. I felt slightly guilty leaving him there like that, but my duty is more important. It always will be. I slowly approached the artist, not wanting to disturb his peace. He quietly trailed off in the soft song he was singing. He must have noticed me. He’s more observant than his trapper comrade, Kapkan notices a lot, but compared to Glaz he is almost blind. Glaz sees almost everything in this building, he also seems to know all the gossip before everyone else. 

 

“You can sit down you know, I set up near this bench so that you could sit. I brought my own stool so I could perch myself here.” He spoke, breaking me from my train of thought. I sat down almost immediately. I pulled out the small notebook I had been carrying with me all day, perching my cardiac sensor on the bench next to me gently. I could see him observing me from the corner of his eyes, the sharp blue watching me intently. Almost as if he could turn this conversation around on me at any moment. He may be young, he’s smart, not as smart as Mute, but still incredibly intelligent, just in a different way. He reads other people based on how they are acting around him, and what he’s observed of them beforehand. I’m sure he already has what he wants to say to me prepared. He’s been waiting long enough for me.

 

“Sorry I am late, Glaz, I-” he stopped me, turning to me and raising his hand up to stop me. 

 

“I saw you in the canteen earlier when I grabbed some lunch. You looked like you were enjoying your nap. I wasn’t going to bother you, if it passed five in the evening, however, I would have. But I knew one of your teammates would interrupt you before then, just when that was is the real question. I assume you just woke, you still have lines in your face from having your head pressed into your arms. Reminds me of high school.” he said, there was a tone of fondness in his voice. He continued to paint, his hand gently moving over the canvas, the other hand supported a pallete of many colors, some blended spectacularly, he had a couple of spots that looked like sludge colored nightmares, but he ignored those, and even used them to try and help shade. He expertly blended those ‘nightmare’ colors into his work, making it work in his artwork. 

 

“Ah, that’s embarrassing. I hope not too many people saw me like that... “ I trailed off before regaining sight of my goals, “I guess this is the start to our meeting then, I am obviously here to talk about your teamwork with your comrades.” He nodded slowly as he continued to paint, the many splotches of paint that had taken up residence on the canvas seemed to slowly be forming something now. 

 

“And? What have the others said about me, I know you have already seen Kapkan and Fuze.” he spoke, his voice calm, gentle even. It made me almost sad that I had to question him. I’m sure he’s doing fine, but Kapkan seemed concerned. 

 

“Yeah, Fuze was just as quiet as usual. But Kapkan seemed very concerned for you,” the young Russian tensed up, his hand freezing, “Did you guys get into a fight?” 

 

He was quiet for a moment, still frozen. His eyes darted across his canvas, anywhere but to where I was sitting just in his view. He slowly started to paint again, his jaw clenched. They must have gotten into a fight. He replied to  me with a slightly hoarse voice after a few moments of painful silence. 

 

“And… what exactly did he say about me?” He asked tentatively. 

 

“He claimed that you were ‘not too useless,’ which makes me think that maybe you two have clashed fists maybe?” I asked, concern on my face as I watched Timur’s face twitch. 

 

“Not too useless, huh?  _ Not too useless?  _ No, we didn’t get into a fight. It’s more complicated than that, complicated isn’t even the right word, in fact. I think it’s safe to say that the two of us have the closest relationship.” He spoke. He continued paining but his jaw was clenched now. I noted that down as well. 

 

“Why are you angry about that?” I asked. 

 

“Ah, just… the way he phrased it.” I heard him mutter in Russian as he continued to paint. A moment of silence befell us. I decided to continue my interview.

 

“Ok, well, how do  _ you _ feel about the teamwork between all of you?” I asked. His painting was turning into something more tangible as I spoke. Brighter colors being added to the canvas. 

 

“I think it’s fine. Fuze does his own thing, he may seem rash and harsh, but its mostly because he is used to having to make dangerous decisions in split seconds, especially when it could either cost his teams lives, or his own. He risks his own more often, even though sometimes it seems like his choices are risky. He tries to make sure none of his own team will get hurt, but rather himself.” He began a speech, I decided not to interrupt him yet.

 

“Tachanka? He’s out there. He brings good morale for us, trying to keep the mood up between the rest of us. He makes sure that everything is running smooth in our squad. If there is any tension he talks to each of us to try and come up with a solution. He kind of treats us like rowdy children, really. Well… in most cases. There have been plenty of scenarios where its us taking care of him. But you know, for the most part.” he added on, continuing more so to talk about Kapkan. 

 

“Kapkan is really the one who holds us all together. Tachanka does his part, but really, Kapkan is the one who fills in those gaps. He really cares about all of us. He is the one who will tell us to get up and move on. He’s the one who makes plans, and sets the goals. He knows what he’s doing. Even if he acts like he doesn’t or that he doesn’t care.” He finished. I watched as the brush went over the canvas. We both could tell that it wasn’t quite done, but he seemed to be satisfied with his results for the moment. 

 

“You really value your team.” I said, I hadn’t expected such a wordy speech from him. I almost expected him to clam up like the others. 

 

“Yes, and I assume you value your own.” He said, there was a special glint in his eye as he said that. It passed almost as fast as it came. I made sure to write down everything he said and I decide to conclude my meeting. It had been an hour. Which means I’ll be meeting Tachanka in three. 

 

“Of course… anyways. That’s it for now, Glaz. You should go resolve whatever it is that made Kapkan jumpy today.” I said as I left the youngest of the Russians to be. 


End file.
